honestly, I don't get what's got everyone's knickers twisted.
People are upset because the casting call for Katniss was basically, "White girls only need apply" but the character as described in the book is a darker skinned, darker haired girl than her blonde-haired blue-eyed mother. The description could have fit a biracial actress or a Hispanic one. Yes, that description also fits White people, particularly of Italian/Spanish descent, but it's not only White people it fits. And the silent implication of the casting call: that: 1, White is default; and 2, White is the 'realistic' color for protagonists - is what got people upset.
If Lawrence had been selected after a truly open casting call that considered all possibilities, fair enough. But she wasn't. She was shortlisted before she even auditioned. And once again, Hollywood fails to even consider a non-White actor for a racially ambiguos role. Meanwhile, for characters that are distinctly non-White in the source material (Avatar, Akira), Hollywood will go ahead and cast a White character because once again: White is default; and White is the color of choice for protagonists.
People are upset because the casting call for Katniss was basically, "White girls only need apply" but the character as described in the book is a darker skinned, darker haired girl than her blonde-haired blue-eyed mother. The description could have fit a biracial actress or a Hispanic one. Yes, that description also fits White people, particularly of Italian/Spanish descent, but it's not only White people it fits. And the silent implication of the casting call: that: 1, White is default; and 2, White is the 'realistic' color for protagonists - is what got people upset.
If Lawrence had been selected after a truly open casting call that considered all possibilities, fair enough. But she wasn't. She was shortlisted before she even auditioned. And once again, Hollywood fails to even consider a non-White actor for a racially ambiguos role. Meanwhile, for characters that are distinctly non-White in the source material (Avatar, Akira), Hollywood will go ahead and cast a White character because once again: White is default; and White is the color of choice for protagonists.
That is why people are upset.
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